US President Donald Trump on Saturday reposted a graphic image on his Truth Social account showing a federal law enforcement officer’s severed finger, after a protester in Minneapolis allegedly bit it off during clashes with anti-ICE demonstrators.
Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin originally shared the image on X, writing, “In Minneapolis, these rioters attacked our law enforcement officer and one of them bit off our HSI officer’s finger,” and adding, “He will lose his finger.”
She also posted photos of two individuals who appeared to be in custody, although it is not clear which person is accused of biting the officer. Authorities have not released further details about the assault. Protests in the city have intensified after the deaths of two US citizens during immigration enforcement operations.
Hours before McLaughlin’s post, Minnesota officials reported another shooting involving federal law enforcement in Minneapolis, amid the Trump administration’s intensified immigration crackdown.
The man has been identified as Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old south Minneapolis resident and US citizen. Bystander footage of the incident circulated widely online after it went viral.
Online video shows several federal agents wrestling the man to the ground while bystanders record the incident. One agent appears to strike him three times with what looks like a firearm, and more than ten shots can be heard, though it is unclear how many agents fired.
The Department of Homeland Security told Fox News that the man “was armed with a gun and two magazines.”
Following the shooting, officers sealed off nearby streets and deployed tear gas to push back demonstrators. Reports said more than 100 federal agents were present at the scene.
Pretti’s death is the second fatal shooting involving federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in less than three weeks. It comes after the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in a separate incident, and follows another case in which a man was shot in the leg while fleeing immigration officers.
